Top 10 Apps for 2012-2013



Primary (PreK-5)


Early Childhood


  • Alien Buddies
    • Matching, puzzles, dot to dots, stickers. Matching includes letters, numerals, shapes & colors. Puzzles offer different difficulty levels. ($1.99)
  • Duck Duck Moose apps
    • All of these apps are amazing & offer fun activities that target many different developmental areas – problem solving, fine motor skills, sequencing, cause & effect… (free/$1.99)
  • Injini - Child Development Game Suite
    • A wealth of content – provides meaningful play to young children, explores cause & effect, spatial awareness, memory & visual processing. (iPad – free/$29.99)
  • iWriteWords
    • Help Mr. Crab collect the numbered balls by dragging him with your finger & drawing the letter/numeral at the same time. (free/$2.99)
  • LetterSchool
    • Intro-Tap-Trace-Write approach for pre-writers & pre-literacy. Customizable handwriting styles. Free version gives you the letters A,B,C,D,E. (free/$2.99)
  • Little Puzzles Toys
    • Helps your child develop critical thinking & mental reasoning skills. Fully customizable. (free)
  • Match Blitz
    • Players visually scan an array of images & symbols to find the single pair as quickly as possible. Multiplayer capability makes this a great game for a small group of students! (iPad – free)
  • Monkey Preschool Lunchbox
    • 7 different games that teach students about colors, letters, counting, shapes, sizes, matching & differences. ($0.99)
  • Puppet Pals HD
    • Pick out your actors & backdrops, drag them to the stage, & tap record. You control the movements & audio will be recorded in real time for playback later. There is a Puppet Pals Pocket for the iPod & iPhone. (iPad – free/$2.99)
  • Story Fun - Children's Stories - Narrated & Animated
    • Collection of stories illustrated by an international team & narrated by North American voice artists. Animated & interactive. (free)


Elementary


  • Animoto Video Maker
    • Turn your photos & music into amazing slideshows. You provide the photos, you pick the song, & ANIMOTO will put it all together. Check out their website at animoto.com/education. (iPod – free)
  • BeFunky
    • It is a photo-editing tool that allows you to add anything from vintage to artsy effects & then save or share them on your favorite social networks. Check out their website at www.befunky.com. (free/$1.99)
  • Fotobabble
    • Create an audio photo story in 3 easy steps. Upload & edit a photo, record, & share. Easy to make private & just share the link. Check out their website at www.fotobabble.com. (iPod – free)
  • i-nigma QR Code Reader
    • It is a mobile barcode reader. It supports all leading mobile phone operating systems platforms & makers. (free)
  • iWriteWords
    • It teaches your student handwriting while playing a fun & entertaining game. (free/$2.99)
  • Love to Count by Pirate Trio
    • Introduces & practices counting, adding, subtracting, ordering, weight… ($3.99)
  • Math Bingo
    • This game allows you to choose from addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, & mixed. There are 3 levels of play. Get a pattern of five Bingo Bugs in a row by answering the questions correctly. ($0.99)
  • Puppet Pals Pocket
    • Teach storytelling skills with animation & audio. Students select the characters & background, & the app will record their voice & actions to make a unique show to showcase their creativity. Puppet Pals HD is for the iPad. (iPod – free/$1.99)
  • SpellingCity
    • In VocabularySpellingCity, students can use any word list to practice their spelling by playing games & activities. Check out their website at www.spellingcity.com. (free)
  • Story Creator
    • It allows you to easily create beautiful storybooks containing photos, videos, text, & audio all in one place. Then share them! (free/$1.99)


Secondary (6-12)


Middle School


  • Angry Birds
    • This app is used by our 5th grade science teacher to teach the basics of potential & kinetic energy. They also discuss force & trajectory & what type of energy the pigs & the birds have. (free/iPod - $0.99/iPad - $2.99)
  • Bookworm
    • Think quickly & link letter tiles left, right, up, & down to form words. The bigger the word, the better the bonus. Be sure to keep an eye out for the burning letters. (free)
  • Factor Samurai
    • A great app to help kids learn multiplication facts & also helps kids learn factors of numbers in a game format. ($2.99)
  • Language Central for Science (Earth, Life, & Physical)
    • A science vocabulary set of 3 apps (Earth, Life, & Physical) that align with the NESA test for science. Our science teachers used it to help kids prepare for the vocabulary they would find in the test. (iPod – free)
  • Leafsnap
    • This app is used by our biology teacher. With this app kids can take pictures of the leaves & the app will give them information about that leaf. It will tell them what tree & where the tree will grow as well as other useful info. (free)
  • Math Quizzer
    • Math Quizzer is used for practicing math facts in addition, subtraction, multiplication, & division. (iPod – free)
  • Number Line
    • Gives kids practice ordering all types of numbers including fractions, decimals, whole numbers & negative numbers. (iPod – free)
  • Presidents vs. Aliens
    • From the makers of & similar to Stack the States, in Presidents vs. Aliens, students learn facts about our nation's presidents to defeat the aliens. (free/$0.99)
  • Stack the States
    • Learn information about the individual states of the United States in a fun toppling game of state recognition. (free/$0.99)
  • TinkerBox
    • Students must build a machine to accomplish a task. As they work through the machines become more & more detailed. Students may also create their own designs & submit them to be used. (free)


High School


  • AccessMyLibrary - School Edition
    • If your school subscribes to any databases there is probably an app for that – check with your librarian. These can be a great way to put quality information at students’ fingertips! We use AccessMyLibrary – School Edition, by Gale. (usually free)
  • EasyBib
    • Citations made easy! Snap barcodes or search titles to find your MLA or APA citation – spend more time researching, less time nitpicking citations! (free)
  • Fotopedia apps
    • This suite of apps present stunning images from N. Korea, Burma, Paris, U.S. National Parks, & more to prompt discussions on culture, architecture, travel, & history. (free)
  • Google Drive
    • A productivity app giving you anytime access to all your important Google Docs. (free)
  • Khan Academy
    • Browse Khan’s awesome library of lessons on math, cosmology, entrepreneurship, art, test prep & so many more. (free)
  • Remind101
    • Safe & secure way to notify your students of assignment updates, activity meeting reminders, questions-of-the-day, & more via text. (iPod – free)
  • Snapguide
    • A creative writing site that matches images with selected keywords in order to capture the essence, story, & meaning of the picture. (free)
  • The Warhol: D.I.Y. POP
    • The best feature of this is going through the silk-screening process to create & share your own art. (free)
  • Today's Document
    • A daily history prompt – have your students check out what tidbit of history the National Archives features each day or have them search & share for one they find fascinating. (free)
  • YALSA's Teen Book Finder
    • This app puts popular & recommended YA books at teens’ fingertips. (iPod – free)


SPED


SPED Learners


  • ABA apps from Kindergarten.com
    • Receptive Identification apps designed to teach foundational language concepts to early learners. (free/$0.99)
  • Articulation Station
    • Full featured articulation application to help children of all ages learn to speak & pronounce their sounds more clearly. 22 sounds (in the full version) with 6 engaging articulation activities. Students can practice sounds in words, sentences, & stories.
      In-app purchases. (free/$49.99)
  • ASL Dictionary
    • Does exactly what it says it does. Great videos that model ASL signs. (iPod – $2.99/iPad – $6.99)
  • AutisMate
    • Sentence builder, Scene-Based AAC, video modeling, visual schedules – This app is expensive, but it delivers a ton of resources for children on the Autism Spectrum. (iPad – $149.99)
  • ConversationBuilderTeen
    • Designed to help elementary aged children learn how to have multi-exchange conversations with their peers in a variety of social settings. (iPad – $19.99)
  • Hidden Curriculum for Kids
    • These real-life based entries spur conversations about the countless “unwritten social rules” that children/teens/adults on the Autism Spectrum encounter every day. (iPod – $1.99)
  • My First AAC
    • An affordable augmentative & alternative communication application that is specifically designed for toddlers & preschoolers with delayed speech or severe speech disorders. (iPad – $24.99)
  • See.Touch.Learn Pro
    • A picture card learning system that will replace all your physical flash cards. Ability to customize makes this a great app. (iPad – free/$34.99)
  • Story Creator
    • We use this app to create personalized social stories for individual students & groups/classrooms. Really user-friendly! Ability to share your social stories with other teachers/parents who have the app. (free/$1.99)
  • VisTimerFree
    • Just what it says. Easily adaptable visual timer – can be used for any age, includes visual & audio prompts. (free)


Last Updated - April 2014